Sunday, December 25, 2016

Silent Night Guitar Instrumental


Merry Christmas y'all! Hope you enjoy this instrumental finger picking guitar arrangement of Silent Night that I put together for you.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Stewarding Your Season of Life Well

How do you feel about your season of life? Is it everything you want it to be? Are there some things about it that you wish were different?

Whatever your response, God loves you, sees you, knows where you’re at, and desires good things for you in this season. Most of all He wants to walk with you and for you to know and experience Him more deeply.

Gravel Path In Woods with Fence © Andrew Allen Photography

Many times we can get so focused on the immediate concerns, priorities, challenges, stresses, or difficulties of a season that we forget to really live in and fully experience the unique opportunities in it.

In a season of singleness, people have time and freedom that is a wonderful blank slate on which to craft a story and engage in an abundance of fun, meaningful activities, time with God, traveling, serving, running races, hiking in nature, writing and reading books, playing songs, and deep friendships. For those who are newly married, there are the joys of a new life together and learning about each other more deeply. For those with kids, there are all kinds of intermittent seasons throughout the various phases: newborn, toddler, elementary age, middle and high school, then sending them on to college or other pursuits in life. The empty nest phase similarly affords much greater time to reconnect with your spouse and engage in fun activities.

From a career perspective, a first job while still in school provides good insight into responsibility, learning to relate to people, and manage money without the full weight of providing for oneself. The first professional job provides a completely new perspective as you learn the ins and outs of an industry and go from book knowledge to practical skills. Mid career can bring a different set of responsibilities where you may be looked to as an expert in your field and provide leadership to others. Late career holds opportunities for possibly selling a business, transitioning responsibilities to others, and investing in a younger generation to carry the torch. In retirement, you again have the potential for significant time availability and can use it in leisure, studying the Bible, traveling, reading, volunteering, spending time with family, and a host of other activities.

There are seasons of joy, seasons of pain, seasons of meaningfulness and seasons that seem mundane, seasons of intensity and seasons of relaxation, seasons of health, seasons of sickness, seasons of plenty and seasons of need. In each of these, God is with you.

It’s important to steward the opportunities in each season and allow God to work in and through you to accomplish the plans that He’s laid for you (Ephesians 2:10). Don’t let busyness, disappointment, others’ expectations, or anything else hold you back from fully living in and pursuing God’s best in your season. It may last for a while or be gone in the blink of an eye. Whatever the season, steward it well and allow God to guide you in each step of the journey.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...